By Brian Danuff 12/5/16
A recount of Michigan’s presidential election results began on Monday.
Michigan joined Wisconsin as the second state to conduct a recount of the ballots cast on November 8. Michigan’s election officials began counting ballots at noon on Monday after an order from U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith.
The request for a recount came from Green Party nominee Jill Stein after Trump won Michigan (16 electoral votes) by just 0.2%, which translates to under 10,000 votes of the over 5.5 million cast.
Stein also requested for a recount in Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes), which Trump won by 1.2%, or 68,236 votes. She withdrew the request over the weekend, deciding to instead file a lawsuit in federal court for a statewide recount.
“A full, accurate hand recount and a forensic audit of the electronic voting machines is a key step towards restoring the rights of individuals that been marginalized and disenfranchised for too long,” Stein said at her “Recount Rally” outside of Trump Tower on Fifth Ave. in New York City.
To date, Stein has raised over $7 million to fund the recount efforts.